Mutant Recruitment Program
by idris-institute
Summary: Max believes she has been the School's sole test subject for the past 19 years of her life. Everything turns upside down when bird kids just like her break her out of the School. Max discovers that they work for the U.S. Recruitment Program. There, she discovers secrets about her past, as well as helping Fang endure his grim past. This story is Fax af ;)
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone! New story! This fanfic was inspired by The Winter Soldier, and kind of the Avengers. Basically, it's the Flock instead of the Avengers, and there's a lot more Fax... **The story is centered around the relationship between Max and Fang, but the setting is still pretty action-packed** :) I hope you guys enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters. I do not own Marvel (wouldn't that be great, though?)

* * *

 _Max POV_

I laid, half-awake, on the awfully familiar steel bed, my arms, legs, and neck strapped down by thick metal cuffs. By this point, I was already familiar with the process. The Whitecoats would poke and prod at my body, plucking feathers off my wings, make me run never-ending tests-you get the idea. The School is the only place I've ever known, so I'm used to my body always feeling like it's on the verge of dying, or my outer feathers shriveling from lack of nutrition.

A Whitecoat strolls into the lab room and peers down at me tauntingly.

"So, what's the schedule today?" I ask in a saccharine voice, "Maybe, electrocution, or… suffocating me underwater… or, Ooh! My favorite, cracking all my bones to see how fast they mend?"

Unaffected at my sarcasm, the Whitecoat coolly replied, "Your attitude won't save you today, Maximum. We'll be trying something _new_ today."

I'll admit, that made me a little apprehensive, but I knew they wouldn't kill me, since I was the only subject they had to experiment on. But there are much worse things than death. **(A/N Lmao Hunger Games reference)** The Whitecoat wheeled me out of the operating room and into a giant warehouse-looking area. I strained my head upward to get a good look around. At the center of the room was a gaping square hole with a sturdy chair and box next to its edge. I just lolled my head back; nothing good ever came out of anticipating torture.

The Whitecoat undid the cuffs with a key, and two of the School's soldiers grasped me by my thin arms and half-dragged me towards the giant hole.

"You know, if you drop me down that hole, I can just fly back up?" I smirked. The soldiers and Whitecoat ignored me. As we approached to giant hole, I peered down into it. It seemed to be a hole that went through the multiple levels of the complex down into what seemed to be the basement. The soldiers forced me into the chair that had its back facing the hole, and it's back legs were an inch from falling into nothingness. The Whitecoat pulled out a long syringe filled with a dull green serum from his chest pocket and prepared to inject me with it. After 18 years, I stopped asking what they were injecting me with. The Whitecoat ruthlessly plunged the syringe into the bone in my wings and I immediately felt me wings relax. They hung uselessly, paralyzed by the serum.

The hole looked a lot more intimidating now. The soldiers took giant metal chains from the box and secured them all around my body onto the chair and attached a steel cord that ran into a machine.

"Today, we'll be testing your strength and problem-solving skills under stressful, timed environments. You will have to escape from the chair within 15 minutes before this machine tugs and releases you and your chair into the abyss"

I peered down peevishly into the hole. Just perfect. It was deep enough to reduce me to a bloody mess of broken bones and crumpled wings, but not nearly enough to kill me. The Whitecoats were calculated in this way.

"You will start when the timer starts to count down."

The Whitecoat and soldiers proceeded out of the room and into the observatory that watched over the warehouse.

I glanced at the digital clock, mocking me with its bright neon greenness. It made a grating beeping sound, and the countdown began. Used to panicked situations, my body didn't start producing adrenaline right away. I squirmed around for a bit, hoping the Whitecoats had put the chains on too loosely. No dice. I realized there was no way I could break the chains without strength fueled by adrenaline. After all, I wasn't a freaking magician who could magically poof out of bonds.

The timer read 6:00. Shit. If I fell down that hole, they'd probably leave me down there just to measure how fast I could self heal. No thanks. My heart started race, my vision narrowing and hands shaking. Good, my adrenaline was starting to kick in. I managed to slip my hand under one loop, but it chafed the skin so hard it began to bleed. The blood slicked my grip as I tried to pull the chains loose from my other hand. The timer was at 3:00 now. Breath coming in shallow gasps now, I knew I had to pull out both my arms _now_. But before I could, the observatory glass wall of the observatory room shattered as a chair was thrown out of the room, and then following, a shrieking Whitecoat. Ah, it was music to my ears. The Whitecoat that was flung out of the observation room formed a perfect arc that ended up right at the bottom of the hole. His death came with a sickening crunch.

Extremely disoriented from the adrenaline and from this new development, I confusedly glanced up to the observatory. To my utter surprise, the people that had apparently hijacked the School looked surprisingly young… and they had wings?! Did the School possibly have other subjects as well as me? This was impossible, the School was a small concentrated complex, and I had never seen another mutant there.

I didn't spare another thought to this enigma. The countdown now read 1:37. They always say, the enemies of your enemies are you friends.

"Over here!" I shrieked hoarsely at the bird kids. They seemed to be engaged in their ransacking, so I clanged my chains against the metal chair. One of them with raven black hair whipped his head around. He shouted something to the strawberry blonde one. They unfurled their wings just as soldiers flooded into the warehouse. His powerful black wings were in much better shape than mine, further proving that he clearly was not a subject at the School.

The School's soldiers aimed their greasy rifles at the hearts of the mutants, but they were too quick. The timer was at 30 seconds now.

"Not to be rude, but can I have some help?" I exclaimed. The dark-haired boy glanced at the timer and smirked, as if this were a game. He ran over and whipped out a sharp knife and began sawing away at the cord that would pull my chair backward when the timer reached 0.

"Ahem, not like this is imminent destruction for me or anything, but could you saw just _a teensy bit_ faster?" I said nervously. He just kept sawing away at the cord. I was about to take the knife myself at 5 seconds left, but he threw the knife to the side and broke the cord using his hands.

The cord zapped backward, pulling what could've been me and my chair. I laid my head back in relief, sweat glazing my forehead. I glanced back up and saw a soldier preparing to pull the trigger on the black-haired boy. Too late to say "duck," I reacted with natural reflexes and used my momentum to swing the chair around and knock the bird kid over.

Bad idea. My chair tilted over, and with arms and legs bound, I couldn't stop the fall, and my head landed on the glass that fell from the observatory. Needless to say, the sharp glass and cold concrete were not a good combination for my skull.

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Thanks for reading! Please R&R to meet the flock in the next chapter... :)

\- Jessica


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! Here's chapter 2 :) This was a lot of fun to write.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride, James Patterson does. This story was inspired The Winter Soldier and The Avengers.**

* * *

 **Max POV**

After my head connected with the hard ground, littered with broken glass, stars shot across my vision and sharp stinging sensations started prickling all around my skull.

"Ouch," I muttered. I watched the boy recover from when I pushed him and he picked up the knife he had discarded earlier to chuck at the attacking soldier. The flying knife landed in the soldier with a satisfying thud.

"You alright?" The boy breathed heavily with a cautious tone, picking up my head gently from the ground.

I glanced helplessly at him sideways, "Please untie me. Keys are probably in that guy's pocket," I nodded at the fallen soldier's body.

He smirked and retrieved the keys to unlock the chains.

"Fang! Over here!" I saw the strawberry-blonde being cornered by a group of soldiers.

Fang, apparently his name, turned quickly and grabbed a gun from the dead guy. I sat up gingerly, trying to ignore the flashing pain in my head.

"Here, take this," Fang pushed the gun into my bloody hands and ran off to help his friend. I sat with my back against a steel beam, trying to maintain my consciousness. I tried to make sense of the situation. It felt like a dream, seeing kids _like me_ saving me from the School. I saw about 5 mutants flying around and punching the living daylights out of the Whitecoats and soldiers-unless I was just totally hallucinating. My vision began blurring, but not enough for me to miss the Whitecoat trying to come kidnap me. I shot the freaking bastard.

"We can't hold them off much longer, Fang! I think reinforcements are coming!" A girl with brown skin exclaimed.

Fang finished off the soldier that was trying to kill him and replied, "Alright, Nudge, get the others and get out of here! I'll get Max!"

Max? Who's that? Oh, yeah… me. Man, I was getting really dizzy.

I saw a dark shape hurtling toward me and suddenly warm fingers grasped my chin that was slick with blood pouring from the wounds on my head.

"Max! Okay, I'm gonna get you out of here, but I need you to stay awake for just a little longer," Fang said urgently.

I grumbled, "I want to go to sleeeeeeeeep," my words slurring together.

Fang sighed frustratedly and wrapped my head with a cloth that I have no idea where he got from. He then proceeded to pick me up bridal style. The world spun upside down and I was on the verge of either passing out or throwing up. My body bounced up and down to the rhythm of Fang's running. As we reached the bright light of the outside, Fang seemed to take flight, and the wind began to ruffle my mussed hair. Seconds, or hours passed, I wasn't sure, and Fang stepped onto solid ground.

"Shit, that looks bad," an older voice said, probably commenting on my head wound that had probably soaked the whole top of my head a grisly red.

"She did it to herself," Fang said, exasperated.

 _I did it to save you, dumbass!_ I wanted to retort, but I didn't have the energy to open my mouth. Fang laid me on what I presumed to be a gurney. They wheeled me onto a ramp and into a large van. Someone pressed a plastic mask to my face and began pressing a cool cloth against my head. The vehicle rumbled to a start, and the monotonous sound of the engine whirring eventually lured me into unconsciousness.

* * *

 **Fang POV**

I got off the ambulance and saw the Flock waiting for me at the back entrance of the HQ.

"Is Max okay?" Angel looked up at me with her blue eyes as I approached them.

"Yeah, she looked pretty bad," Nudge winced.

I tiredly ran my fingers through my hair, "The doctors said she'll be okay. She'll need plenty of stitches and a hell lot of Advil for it though."

"Do you think… she remembers us?" Gazzy asked. It was the question on all our minds.

"I don't think so," I replied roughly, remembering the stare that held no recognition in her eyes.

"She probably still wants someone there when she wakes up," Iggy suggested.

The Flock went silent, but they all turned to look at me.

"What?" I said defensively.

"You were her best friend, Fang. She'll be scared as hell. She's never known anything other than the walls of the School," Iggy said.

"Yeah. _Were_ her best friend," I said stubbornly. But as I looked at the sullen faces of the Flock, and I mentally resigned.

"Alright, whatever. You guys get some rest. I'll tell you how she is in the morning," I said, turning to go into the building.

* * *

 **Max POV**

I usually had nightmares, where I was either being cut open alive or forced to run until my lungs shriveled up. This time, I dreamed about something I only saw on the TV I watched secretly through the bars of my cell. I dreamed about having brothers and sisters, and that we were so close we were basically family. Family. Oh God, Maximum. Stop being such a cheese. _Wake up!_

I forced open my eyes to a dimly lit room. I was immediately aware of two things: the dull pain in my head, and the steady of breathing of someone next to me. Then, the memories of the last night came crashing down on me like a wave. I _had_ to still be at the School. There was no way, after 19 years I had somehow escaped that prison. But after a few reorienting blinks, I realized that this room was definitely _not_ part of the School. At first glance, I noticed the peppy lavender furniture, a stark contrast from the clinical whiteness of the School. I also noticed a dark boy sprawled against the optimistic furniture, sleeping. _Fang_ , I remembered from last night.

I slightly rustled the sheets of the bed as I reached to touch my aching head. From that small sound, Fang stirred slightly and his eyes slowly opened, revealing sleepy dark eyes the color of obsidian. I froze, hand halfway to my head.

I meant to say, _What am I doing here?_ But it sounded more like _What amah doihee?_ As my voice cracked from the dryness in my throat. I cleared my throat uncomfortably.

His eyes sharpened and his stature became more alert.

"How are you feeling?" Fang asked smoothly. Geez. Why doesn't his voice crack first thing in the morning like me? I cleared my throat one more time just to be sure.

"Fine. Water would be appreciated," I said cautiously. It was weird, talking to someone who didn't want to torture me.

Fang nodded and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but turned and left. I sat up and looked across the room at myself in the mirror. There were soft, white bandages running across the top of my head. I looked thinner and paler than I had the last time I'd looked at myself in a reflection (which was in the reflection of a metal food tray, if you're curious). I tested my wings out to see if the paralyzing serum had worn off. They were a little sore, but I was able to extend them to full length. I looked at them in the mirror; there were little spaces where feathers had been plucked off and dozens of cuts scarring the surface. They were matted with blood with feathers tangled and bent, nothing like Fang's healthy, full raven wings. Speaking of Fang, where is he with my water? And speaking of water, I actually have to go to the bathroom…

I gingerly peeled the blankets off my legs and nudged them over the side of the bed. I ripped the IV drip off my arm and dropped to the cool, linoleum tiles barefooted. Slowly walking, I was about to open the door when a lady, followed by Fang and that blessed glass of water, entered the room.

"Oh, Max, you shouldn't be out of bed!" The lady said. I assumed she was a doctor, with her stethoscope and all.

"I just wanted to go to the bathroom," I protested.

"Of course, of course," the doctor chimed, "it's right outside the room to the right, honey."

Well, that was the first time anyone's called me "honey."

I opened the door only to find a tall, strawberry-blonde kid and a young angelic looking boy fall forward as if they'd been leaning on the door. The small boy embarrassedly hid behind the taller guy. I realized they were part of the group of bird kids that had helped save me.

"Max?" The older one breathed. The younger one took this as a cue to come wrap his arms around my waist and cry, "Max! You're back!"

I confusedly looked back at Fang and the doctor. There was clearly a memo I was missing.

Fang sighed, "Were you guys seriously eavesdropping? I told you I would tell you guys her condition when she woke up. Gazzy! Give her some space"

The little boy, apparently Gazzy, said innocently. "We couldn't wait."

"I'm very sorry to disappoint you guys, but I don't know any of you, and I really really really have to go, so I'll be _just_ a moment? Kay?" I said as I rushed out of the room.

What the hell was going on? And who were these people who seemed to know me?

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 **Ayo, hope you guys liked it! I threw in a Fang POV there, but I think it'll be** ** _mostly_** **Max POV for most of the story. Fun fact: I kept typing Fnag instead of Fang and it was really annoying lmao.**

 **Please R &R :)**

 **-Jessica**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! Here's chapter 3 :)**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride, James Patterson does. This story was inspired by The Winter Soldier movie.**

* * *

 **Max POV**

I tentatively opened the door to find even more kids clustered in the tiny room. After a moment, I realized they were the same bird kids who had saved me from the School.

"I'm Iggy," one of them said, "we have a lot for you to catch up on," he smirked.

A girl about 15 years old looked at me sadly with deep brown eyes, "Do you really not remember us, Max? It's me, Nudge!"

I looked down at my feet, color burning my cheeks. I felt the hopeful gazes of all the kids burning into my skin. None of these people sparked a single thing inside me. Except for-

"Max, I'm going to start from the beginning. You might want to sit down," Fang said.

"You weren't the only one. At the School, I mean. All of us were created and experimented on there. But about nine years ago, in 2007, the U.S. Recruiter Program-REPRO for short-broke us out of that hell hole. Except.. For you Max-" Fang looked to the side and looked down.

"You were all there with me? How do I not remember this?" I said, incredulous.

"We weren't just _with_ you," Iggy growled, "We were family. They must've given you some sort of memory-wiping serum to make you forget the incident."

Fang stared at me and continued, "Anyways, they couldn't get you out in time. You were the Whitecoats most prized possession. They weren't going to let you get snatched away easily. They locked you away deep inside the complex just as REPRO forces showed up. As the Whitecoats focused on you, that's how we were able to be taken away by REPRO. I-I didn't want to leave you there alone, Max. I can't even imagine what they did to you… And you were alone, and-"

"If it was true that you guys were like family to me, I would've wanted you all to leave me and save yourselves," I said, looking up into Fang's glittering eyes.

"The point is, Max, you're safe now," Iggy continued, "Ever since we'd escaped the School, we've been working under REPRO, saving the world, doing our fair share of ass-kicking," Iggy winked.

"We weren't made to be picked and plucked at," Fang said, "We are capable of so much more, and we can do that here."

I sank down into the softness of the bed. My fingers hovered over the incredibly silky sheets, a sharp contrast from the unforgiving coldness of the metal beds at the School. I realized that I didn't have to wake up each morning, dreading the torture the day would bring. The weight of all the broken bones, ruptured organs, and _all the pain_ seemed to slightly lift off my body. By some stroke of a miracle, I had been given a new chance. The chance I deserved.

* * *

 **Max POV**

I sat, alert, on a black leather sofa in a spacious office, picking at a loose thread on my hospital gown. My gaze traveled to the large windows that ran from the floor to the ceiling, overlooking a lush yard and reflecting pool. I stood and wandered over to the window. I closed my eyes and imagined flying through the open air and above the reflecting pool; I mentally added it to my list of firsts.

Someone knocked the door gently and came in. It was a middle-aged lady with tan skin and deep, chocolate hair.

"Hello, Max, I'm Dr. Valencia Martinez, vice president of REPRO," she said warmly, settling down on the sofa next to me.

I did my best to try and smile at her, but it came out as more of a grimace as my right cheek ached from bruises.

"I'm so glad we were finally able to rescue you from those bastard Whitecoats," she said with a relieved smile, "We tried to locate the Whitecoat complex after our partially failed mission in 2007, but they relocated so quickly and discreetly it was near impossible to find them again. Just lately, our drones happened to detect strange activities from near the mountainside, and further investigation implied that we had found the School."

"So, you rescued me. Now what?" I said, "Sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out so bluntly," I winced.

Dr. Martinez grinned, "It's alright. I understand. Now that you're here, you have two choices. One. Choose to leave here, and we'll get you money and help needed to start a normal life in the world."

A normal life. I almost snickered at the thought.

As if reading my mind, Dr. Martinez smirked, " _Or_ , you could stay here with the rest of the Flock, and use your abilities to make the world a better place. You don't owe the world anything, Maximum. But it's up to you if you want to make the most out of the abilities you've been given."

I confidently stared at Dr. Martinez, "I want to stay here."

There was no question about it. After all I had been through, it was unthinkable to believe that I could just settle down into a monotonous life. Hiding my wings, hiding the nightmares of the past. Maybe, one day, I could help bring down the School once and for all.

"Now, we're not going to be sending you on missions anytime soon," Dr. Martinez continued, "You need to recover and eat. You also need training. But, there are also other ways to help around here other than going out on missions. As of now, the tech wing is in dire need of someone to help them design new suits for the Flock. We'll put you there for now, see how you like it."

I nodded, absorbing the information, "When will I be able to start training?"

"You'll be able to do some light training relatively soon, as you body heals pretty quickly," Dr. Martinez pursed her lips, "I think I'll have Fang help you with that. It'll be good for you both."

"Us _both_?" I looked at her quizzically.

Dr. Martinez looked sadly at me, "Just a few months ago, we thought Fang was dead."

I looked at her in horror, "Why? Did he disappear?"

"In 2011, we sent him on a mission, in which we presumed him dead after it looked like it was a failure," she looked at the ground in pain, "but by some miracle, he came back. Just a few months before we rescued you. But he… was different."

"Different… how?" I asked carefully.

"I think you should hear it from Fang yourself," she said gently, "You know, you two were extremely close at the School. I hate to think that you've forgotten him completely. Being together will help you both."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I just nodded.

"And Max, one more thing. Since you've been at the School for so long, I thought that you might.. Might want someone to look after you. Or just be there for you. If you want, I could be that person. I could be your-your mother. I mean-"

"Mother," I said softly, rolling the syllables off my tongue. I remember program I watched on the TV through the bars of my cell, watching the loving caress of the mother, and the bond between her and her daughter, unparalleled by even the romantic relationships within the show. And now, I was being offered that.

I looked at Dr. Martinez, her eyes expectant, yet guarded.

"I'll- think about it." Ah, curse my eloquence.

Dr. Martinez smiled slightly, "Of course, Max. You have all the time in the world."

All the time in the world, between my hands for the first time.

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 **Thanks for reading! I know this was kind of an info-dump chapter, but I had to get it in there.**

 **Please R &R! I promise some fluffy stuff in the next few chapters... :)**

 **-Jessica**


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